A Haircut in the Slope

In New York, where to go for a haircut is always a quandary. Like everything else in New York, the range of options is staggering: cheap, expensive, hipster, classy, metal, organic, you name it, a salon in the city does it. All this is compounded by perhaps the worst problem of all: everyone has a horror story about bad and/or overpriced cuts. Armed with a sense of terror, therefore--one only made worse by the prospect of cutting off all of her hair and having it be a Very Big Mistake--your intrepid female PS20 correspondent braved the wilds of southern Park Slope to find a wonderful, and shockingly affordable, salon.

From the name alone, Salon Bohemia sounds like it's for the Coop-loving, earthy-crunchy 'I'm so bohemian with my $2000 a month rent' crowd; despite the friendly-yet-disorganized air, this salon means business. The cost of a cut is comparable to most downtown Manhattan or Williamsburg salons, which is to say, not cheap. However, there is a secret (one readily available to anyone with an internet connection pointed to salonbohemia.com) -- cuts with Mari, the current 'rising star' stylist, are half the price of the regular cuts. For someone like me -- long hair, going short -- the somewhat more complicated cut ran $40, but considering that any other stylist would've charged $80, it felt like a solid break.

As far as the cut itself went, at the time it didn't feel like the most glamorous experience. There was coffee and tea, though I didn't sample the wares, and the cookies that had been out on a previous visit didn't make themselves known; the stylist, Mari, did everything, from washing to cutting and styling. Even though it was early on a Saturday morning, a constant flow of customers, primarily young locals, kept the team of stylists busy.

Though it may not have felt like the most amazing cut of my life, one look in the mirror back at our apartment was enough to convince me of Salon Bohemia's otherworldly powers. I was transformed -- as the rest of PS20 claimed, into Anne Hathaway circa Rachel Getting Married. (Though without the drug use and 'intense' eye makeup.)

Needless to say, PS20 wholeheartedly recommends Salon Bohemia. It's not just for hipster twentysomething girls, either -- men and children are invited to get in on the action, too (though please, please, no children while I'm there, thanks.)